A life in the week of……

Before I start writing today’s blog ( and explaining the title – I know you’ll be thinking “ she’s got it the wrong way round hasn’t she?” Patience Dear Reader, patience!) I wanted to sincerely thank you all for supporting me through my March challenge to raise funds for the SANDS charity. Together we raised over £700 – exceeding my expectations completely. I also wanted to say how touched I’ve been with the feedback I’ve received from my blog – so I am going to aim to write a weekly blog with reflections, observations and some facts on life ( no, not with the facts of life don’t worry …) for you all. So as they say, strap yourselves in , hold tight …..and off we go!

Firstly, the title ! Indeed normally one would say “ A week in the life of..” . This week has been far from normal and it has felt like a lifetime so bear with me please. Look, for a start I’ve travelled over 1300 miles and during that journey I’ve been involved in a bus crash, fallen in love with an octopus, worried about Millie being attacked by a Bengal tiger, driven in rain so heavy that we’ve more or less come to a standstill on a motorway and then to cap it all, family plans went to pot ! Now do you understand my choice of title ? Personally I blame the hole in the sun that was discovered on March 23 rd – just my opinion!

As Julie Andrew’s sung ( I won’t even try to sing it) …Let’s start at the very beginning…..it is after all a very good place to start! When I left you last week, I was preparing to embark on this journey ( a real one not a metaphorical one) . So I got the house sitters settled in ….Grandma is in charge so order will be maintained whilst I’m not there….

Our first port of call was Hove , the home of the Bengal tiger ( well she is a domestic cat but if you read some things about the breed you’d think they were wild) As it happens, the aptly named Dotty is a real pussy cat – she’s gorgeous and was certainly no threat to Millie! In fact she was petrified of Millie …not surprising considering the size difference. So one less worry for me. We were visiting the DB’s eldest daughter,Emma – sorry I forgot to tell you I was taking the DB ( Dearly Beloved for those of you new to the blog…) with me on this journey.

We took the bus to Brighton…the DB delighted that he could use his bus pass. Sadly I’m not yet old enough for a bus pass 😉…….anyway he doesn’t get chance to use it at home. Buses are a rarity at home …however he did use it once in Sheffield. Now I’m going to go way off the point here, but when I think of the time he used his bus pass ,I automatically think of my funeral coat . Aren’t brains and memories funny? Let me elaborate ( not about brains and memories, about funeral coats and bus passes!) – the DB had to take his car into Sheffield for some work doing ( can’t remember what..) and I was ill so couldn’t take him. Hence he used the bus pass to take the tram to Meadowhell ( intentional error) Shopping Mall, to pass some time . That memory is associated with a funeral of a very dear friend that was the next day ( in case you’re wondering we’re getting to the funeral coat now…) I had decided to buy a winter coat that would serve as a funeral coat- and as luck would have it, I found a chocolate brown one ( I wouldn’t wear a black one any other time, so economy reigned ) in the Jaeger on line sale! Just so you know I don’t shop at that store on a regular basis ..not my style…My mother was an avid fan of Jaeger so I think I have an in built aversion to it 😉Anyway said coat arrived…..too big so had to be returned . The smaller size then arrived …a perfect fit, three days before the funeral … then I was still too unwell to go to said funeral. That coat remains to this day unworn…….so much for economy ! Now where was I ? Oh yes…

Back to that bus ……

So there we were, on our way to what turned out to be one of the most delicious lunches we have ever eaten ….you did hear me correctly! We went to a lovely restaurant called Burnt Orange which served small plates ( obviously with small amounts of food on …I mean ..you …..no I don’t need to explain do I?….) I mean who wouldn’t like crispy smoked lamb shoulder cigars with padron yoghurt, flamed sea bream with basil yoghurt and a mango dressing or smoked miso aubergine with crispy onions and sour cream ( to name but a few….) See what I mean – a whole different calibre of food……not to mention the Malfi orange spritz and Sauvignon Blanc it was washed down with or the wonderful friendly Jonny and Alex who looked after us . A complete success, but all good things must come to an end , so homeward bound we had to be. After a reasonable walk we agreed to catch the bus the remainder of the way ….DB can use his bus pass again but I must pay ( did I tell you I’m not yet old enough for a bus pass? Oh I did – apologies for repetition!) There we were sat sitting on this bus when it pulled into the bus stop and…..BANG ! The driver had clearly thought the bus already there was leaving or maybe she ( yes it was a she but that’s no reflection on her driving skills…) pressed the accelerator instead of the brake …who knows, but two buses were suddenly out of action ( one with a large hole in its rear window and the other with its windscreen shattered) and I suspect the bus company will be all the poorer for the whiplash claims of the passengers in the bus in front. I spotted them walking off the bus rubbing their necks……please don’t think I’m callous here ……I have experience of this but if I go off track again I’ll never finish this blog ( I’ve got another 1000 miles to go yet – so I’ve made a mental note …well I’ve written it in my notebook 😉- to tell you about it another time!)

Eventually we got back to Emma’s ( fortunately we didn’t have to pay again, not sure the DB could have coped with paying another £2 for my return ticket being from Yorkshire …how much?……..) It was there I fell in love with an octopus…….

I have never given much though to these creatures before …other than whilst I love grilled octopus, it absolutely does not love me and the couple of times I’ve eaten it , I’ve spent the following two days blown up like a big base drum and feeling rubbish to boot. I digress (what a surprise…) So Emma introduces me to a documentary film called My Octopus Teacher….who would believe I would be in tears in a film about octopuses ( or is it octopi?) It is a very moving film …one I’d urge you to watch . In reality a female octopus lives approximately one year if she’s lucky and isn’t eaten by something or someone before then. She mates once , gives birth to possibly thousands of babies , nurtures them and then dies. In fairness the males also dies soon after mating. So they have a limited existence , but the potency of this documentary is the relationship between the guy making the documentary and the octopus ….how little we really know of the natural world . Watch the film you’ll be amazed!

All this has happened and I’ve not even left our shores …anyway Friday arrives and we’re off…….

At border control I was all ready with my answers to the questions re guns, knives and ammunition which we have been asked about each previous time – no mention of the dog food you’re not now supposed to take, or the ham, cheese and any other picnic item that might incur the wrath of the EU! So if I was asked whether we had hidden about the car any of the above weapons, I was going to confess to having have a Viner’s stainless steel cutlery knife ..confiscate it if you dare……the customs officer clearly saw me coming and decided the better of any stop and search tactics …imagine the blog otherwise 🥴🥴🥴🥴

Driving through France is normally a joy – but the weather spoilt it. The motorways are pretty empty but that makes little difference when the rain is such that visibility is very poor.

We arrived to this lovely spot set by a lake …perfect for Millie. I got up early the next day and these photos describe our walk …

And it’s we’re off to San Sebastián….blue sky there’s a change !

Now we met these two on Saturday evening for a pizza ….yes you’re right, not much room for pizza after those drinks!!!….and had planned to spend the whole of Sunday with them before setting off in the evening for a hotel in Pamplona. However the weather forecast was appalling for Sunday, add to that the San Sebastián marathon was taking place that we knew nothing about so San Sebastián was a no go area, and Izan was rugby training about forty five minutes away from San Sebastián . So change of plan ….we’d all meet up at rugby training to watch Izan play – he was playing four times between 10 and 12 ( or so we thought) and then go for lunch nearby before we left for Pamplona late afternoon.

Sunday dawned and when I describe the rain as bucketing down , that is how it was …buckets of water hitting the ground continuously. I got drenched taking stuff to the car! We set off to watch Izan only to get there after he’d played once and wasn’t going to play again 🥴🥴

Ashley had an awful cough so couldn’t come – so our day was turned on it’s head. We had a coffee with Izan and his Dad and had to sit outside albeit under shelter, as we had Millie – but there was no denying it was too wet and cold to stay anywhere outside long. So we said our goodbye’s and set off for our hotel in Pamplona…

Now look what’s happened – my battery’s nearly run out ( mine as well as the ipad 😉😉) – anyway you’ll be pleased to know I’m nearly done . An uneventful journey south east across Spain saw us leave temperatures of 7 degrees and reach temperatures of 21 degrees….

So Dear Reader …I hope you now understand the title of this blog ! I’m leaving you now ….the battery is nearly flat and if I tell you any more , I won’t have anything to tell you next week apart from my life on a sun lounger , will I.?

Believe that, and you’ll believe anything! For now adios and hasta la proxima 🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸